NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1877. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 QUESTIONS FOR THE HIGHER PAN- 

 THEISM. 



[To My Pointer Dog "Bob Lee" shot while participating in a sheep 

 hunt, A. D., I875J 



BACK to lliit^ elemental forms 

 Resolved art thou; 

 Once dog, now, dust and air! 

 The ploughman's plough 

 Will win reward Tor thee in verdure fair. 



Past friend, true slave, companion— all 



That dog conld be, 

 I mourn— the partridge sings 

 Far down the lea 

 Beneath thee— grass— the chaugefulncss of things. 



Lo! while I write thy cry alone 

 Remote through space 

 Vibrates. Inay sole remain 

 The only truce 

 Left of thine entity, thy joy or pain; 



Save in the vaults of memory, 

 Where lingers still 

 The shadow of the days, 

 By vale or hill, 

 Where joy met joy in sympathetic gaze. 



What time the golden sunset fell, 

 On wood and stream, 

 While we, the loss or gain 

 Recount, and deem 

 The day all glorious with its rents and stain, 



Heating the distant partiidgecall 

 From Held and fen, 

 While down the mountain side. 

 And o'er the glen, 

 The shadows gathered to the eventide. 



An! lift is not bounded by u natte! 

 Nor centered all; 

 But siretcheth near and far- 

 Grief's joys appal, 

 Coufounding us with gleams of what we arel 



We si rivu to grasp and apprehend 

 The scattered sum; 

 Prom fact to inference 

 We go and come. 

 Yet fathom not our soul's circumference. 



Aud so through lime and space we live 



A wide, weird life, 

 And know not what we be, 



Till in ibe strife 

 Wu learn, through tears, life's strange plurality. 



Hay it he, "Bob," that, after 6leep 

 Beyond the river, 

 We'll bunt again the bevied quail 

 lu Life's Forever, 

 Where come no sheep— where birds nor seasons fail? 

 — — «•» 



For Forest and Stream. 



X 

 gurth gggwg <\t the §ulfi o( 



AFTER putting the Idle Hour in good order by scrap. 

 ing and painting the hull, setting up the standing 

 rigging, aud shitting sheets aud halliards end for end, so 

 as to equalize the wear through all the parts, we were ready 

 for Uie return voyage; but before turning our backs on 

 South Florida it was decided that we ought to look in ou 

 some old friends living on Little Sarasota Bay. Beside the 

 desire to sec old friends, I own up to having a wish to cat 

 a turtle egg custard and some egg fritters before leaving, 

 and to do this I must first catch my turtle eggs. The tur- 

 tle referred lo are the large sea or logger-head variety, 

 which lay their eggs in the sand just above high water 

 mark all through the Gulf of Mexico, and on the Atlantic 

 side as far north at least as the Caroliuas. Our Northern 

 visitors usunlly leave the State too early to know anything 

 about them, as they do not lay very abundantly until the 

 lull moon of June and July. I have found the nest of an 

 unusually early one in the month of March, but it was as 

 far south as the northerly end of Charlotte Harbor. At 

 the present time they had not commenced laying on the 

 outside beach of Big Sarasota, but were reported to be 

 "crawling" at the "Horse and Chaise." This is a tract of 

 country between Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor, where 

 the main land comes quite down to the gulf and is not 

 sheltered by an outlying range of islands. The country 

 in back, being unsettled, is a great resort for ga we. Ihave 

 made many inquiries as to how this particular name origin- 

 ated; but with little success. The best theory offered is 



that a group of pines, when viewed from the gulf some 

 two miles out, bears a striking resemblance to that style of 

 "turnout." I have cruised oil-shore here, but have failed 

 in seeing any resemblance between the pines aud a horse 

 and chaise, or any other means of locomotion, but then it 

 is qnitc possible my imagination is not quite brilliant 

 enough, and the person who did discover the likeness 

 would have been just as likely to have said, " 'Tis very 

 like a whale." 



This has always been a favorite place for turtles to 

 "crawl," as they seem to know by instinct what part of 

 the beach is unfrequented and where they are not likely to 

 be disturbed. 1 have, frequently seen where they have 

 crawled in one another's tracks, and have dug in one an- 

 other's nests in older to lay. Indeed, I once dug three 

 nests within a space of six feet in diameter, which had all 

 been laid during one night. To make this letter better un- 

 derstood I will go into the natural history of the animal a 

 little. The adult turtle usually weighs from 350 pounds 

 up to 700. Tke heaviest which I ever saw weighed, tipped 

 the beam at 537 pounds. It is very strange, but no small 

 logger-heads are ever seen. That is from the time they are 

 hatched out, the size of a quarter of a dollar, none are 

 ever caught until they are full grown, uear 200 pounds. 1 

 have made frequent inquiries among the green turtle fisher- 

 men, who aie often annoyed by finding logger-heads in 

 Iheir nets, and they all uuite in saying that they never find 

 any under 150 pounds. Where are they all this time from 

 infancy to adult age? 



From examinations which I have made of those I have 

 killed they usually lay three litters of eggs each season. 

 A f2w times I have made out a fourth set of eggs. Each 

 litter of eggs, if that is the correct term to call them, 

 numbers from eight to twelve dozen, these are perfectly 

 round, an inch and titree-eigbths in diameter, and covered 

 with a soft, leather-like white shell almost as tough as 

 parchment. The turtle digs a round hole in the sand with 

 its hind flippers about ten inches in diameter and two feet 

 deep. The whole cumber in the litterare deposited at one time 

 in this hole, and are then covered over in such a way thai 

 the ground for a space of ten or fifteen feet in all directions 

 is torn up, and one cannoi tell by the looks of the place 

 anywhere near where the nest itself is located. To ascer- 

 tain its position we take a sharp-pointed stick, or, better 

 still, an old-fashioned iron ramrod, and prod around all 

 over the place that has been torn up. It is necessary to 

 bear on very hard, for there is usually a foot or more of 

 sand on the eggs, and the great weight of the turtle has 

 compacted this very closely. When you come directly 

 over the eggs the bottom drops out, and down goes your 

 stick through eggs and sand, squash! Of course you spoil 

 half a dozen eggs or more, but then what of that? you 

 don't miss them among such a quantity. All that has to be 

 done now is simply dig the sand away with your hands 

 and throw out the eggs. If you calculate for a moment 

 you will see that an enormous number of eggs must be 

 laid on our coast in the course of a season, and one is led 

 to wonder why the whole ocean is not solid with logger 

 head turtle. They are very numerous, it is true, but their 

 enemies are on every hand. To begin with, as the turtle 

 must be occupied for nearly half an hour on the beach in 

 depositing its eggs, it is exposod to capture by man. But 

 allowing that danger to have been safely passed, and the 

 eggs stowed away snugly in their hole to await the action 

 of the sun. All the animals of the forest, from the bear 

 down to the wood rat, seem to know the egg season, and 

 all flock to the beach. Especially the bear, coons and 

 foxes seem to realize it, so that in some localities it h 

 almost impossible for a man to find a nest that has not 

 been robbed before daylight. These animals, loo, don't 

 have to probe about to find the nest, but seem to know 

 just where it is and never make false points. Where coons 

 and foxes are very plenty probably not one nest in a thou- 

 sand escape their search, but theie arc some islands like 

 Egmont, for instance, which have no animals on them; 

 here the eggs may hatch. There are said to be some of 

 the Tortugas Islands similarly situated, and when the eggs 

 hatch the beach is literally alive with young turtles on 

 their way to the water. The youngster is not safe there, 

 however, for' red-fish seem to know of the egg season quite 

 as instinctively as the animals, and may be seen sweeping 

 along in schools at the very edge of the water, picking 

 them up as soon as they reach what is to be their element. 

 If they run the gauntlet of the red -fish in safety that is the 

 last we see of them until they are full-grown. The 

 green turtle, although very frequently caught onthiscoust, 



very seldom lay here. I have never met with the nest of 

 one. As I have said before, the logger-heads often get into 

 nets set for green turtle, to the annoyance of the fisher- 

 men, for they are of no value. Although very fat their 

 flesh is as tough as the poorest beef, and the fishermen cut 

 their throats when they let them go adrift. It seems loo 

 bad to throw meat away in this manner, even if it is not 

 first class, when there are thousands in our cities who are 

 in want of even poorer food. If some plan could be de- 

 vised for cuiing it any quantity could be secured and placed 

 on the market, or even when alive they bear transportation 

 almost as well as the green turtle. 



But to return to the present trip. Mrs. Woodruff joined 

 our party, and after an early breakfast we went on board 

 the sloop, and with a light east wind headed for the pass. 

 The channel is broad and plain between the islands for 

 some two miles when the island on the north side ends. 

 The channel keeps on in the same westerly direction for 

 about half a mile, with a- shoal on the north side and Big 

 Sarasota Island ou the south. It there crooks quite sharp 

 to the south, running parallel with the beach, and about a 

 quarter of a mile away from it for over a mile. The shoal 

 keeps its position on the outside for the whole distance is 

 often bare in places at low water, and even in perfectly 

 calm weather the ground swell usually breaks along the 

 whole length, so that with the exception of a small boat 

 channel, close in to the north island, there is no place 

 where it can be crossed, and that little channel is only 

 practicable in smooth weather for boats of not over three 

 feet draft. This leaves but the one channel for the pass, 

 which occupys the position where we usually look for the 

 south swash. The entrance is a full mile from the pass 

 itself, and is fully seven feel of water on the shoalest part 

 of the bar at low water. 



The other entrance to Big Sarasota Bay is New Inlet, 

 four miles north of the one just described, and hero the 

 entrance is also the south swash channel with five feet of 

 water at low tide. 



The east wind failed us before we were across the bar, 

 but as the tide was running out we drifted across into deep 

 water. The sea breeze kept us waiting for half or three 

 quarters of an hour, aud then coming from the south- 

 west by west we held on our course for the further point of 

 land we could see. 



About three miles from the entrance to Big Sarasota 

 Pass, to the south, a point of rocks makes out inlo tile 

 gulf. These are the only rocks I know of along this beach 

 from Anclote Keys to Charlotte's Harbor, and for that rea- 

 son are a very useful landmark. Their composition is 

 like concrete or the "coquiua" which is found in the vi- 

 cinity of St. Augustine, being composed of minute shells 

 aud saud joined in large masses. The ledge is some ten 

 feet in height above low water mark, and as it extends on 

 the bottom out into the gulf quite a distance forms a 

 capital place for calching all kinds of bottom fish. Large 

 black grouper constitute the majorily taken, and I know 

 of no better station for sport with a hand Hue from the 

 shore than these rocks, Ou a favorable day more can be 

 taken in half an hour than one will care lo carry across 

 the island, or to the boat, whicli will usually have to be left 

 on the island side or at Little Sarasota Pass, which is about 

 a mile further south. The rocks crop out occasionally on 

 the beach until you come to the pa3S, and here is another 

 large ledge, forming another excellent fishing station, aud 

 the north bank of the inlet. As Little Sarasota Pass is not 

 over twenty-five yards wide one can pass it very easily 

 without knowing it if half a mile or over from the beach. 

 The rocks last referred to, being, as just noted, immedi 

 ately on the north bank must be the landmark. Run south 

 of them two hundred yards and a hundred yards from the 

 beach; when they bear N. E. by N. steer for them until 

 you are close enough to them to look into the pass, when 

 you will readily see the channel. There is full five feet 

 of water in the channel, which, as I have described, 

 was out to the S. W. and parallel with the beach, but one 

 can run across the bar with four feel anywhere in smooth 

 weather. Owing lo this shoalness it is not a safe inlet 

 When the wind blows heavy on shore as the waves break 

 all the way across. But once inside the character of the 

 navigation chauges wonderfully, as you find yourself in a 

 moment in a perfect caual over two miles long, not over 

 thirty yards wide and ten feet deep. The banks are almost 

 perpendicular, and one's first impression would be thai the 

 canal was built by man so straight aud regular is its form- 

 ation. I account for it by the theory that many years ago 

 the inlet was two miles south of its present location. 



